3 package bombs have Houston on alert

Originally aired: Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Police in Austin, Texas are fielding hundreds of tips in regards to the recent package bombings. Authorities are particularly concerned because the bombings started while tourists were arriving for the South by Southwest Music Festival. There are also concerns that the attacks may be racially motivated and the packages are being hand delivered. Stay tuned for the latest information. How did we get here, according to the Associated Press Police said the bombings in eastern Austin -- two Monday and one on March 2 -- are likely linked. All the victims were minorities, and investigators are looking into whether race was a factor. However, they backed off initial suggestions that hate crimes could be a core cause. The first of Monday's blasts occurred early in the morning when a package was carried into the kitchen and exploded upon being opened, killing a 17-year-old boy and wounding a 40-year-old woman, both of them black. Hours later, police were called to the scene of another explosion also triggered by the opening of a package. That blast wounded a 75-year-old Hispanic woman, who was taken to a hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. Both of those explosions are thought to be linked to another early morning blast, this one on March 2, which killed a black man. Monday's victims were not immediately identified but police said previously that the March 2 victim was 39-year-old Anthony Stephan House. "This is the third in what we believe to be related incidents over the past 10 days," Austin police Chief Brian Manley said during the second of two news conferences he held near each of Monday's explosion sites. The JayMac News Show is hosted by KSL News Radio's Jay McFarland, who also hosts the fictional podcast, Hosts of Eden. KSL News Radio is part of Bonneville Media and based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Don't forget to review and subscribe to the JayMac Mac News Show podcast on iTunes. Or follow Jay on Twitter and Instagram @JayMacNewsShow or